About us
Our mission-driven work for a just world, welcoming our new neighbors and advocating for a safe and inclusive community are inspired and guided by our own lived experiences. CRIW’s cofounders are three women - A refugee from Afghanistan, an immigrant from Italy and a granddaughter of Jewish refugees fleeing genocide in Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century.
In 2020, we learned about a community of underserved and marginalized, preliterate women from rural Afghanistan who were living in New Haven. They were facing enormous challenges due to their forced displacement, post-migration and resettlement experiences, which grew substantially worse as a result of COVID pandemic. In the summer of 2021, and as a result of the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban takeover, their families remaining in Afghanistan were experiencing humanitarian crises of horrific proportions. Together, these conditions only worsened the women's pre-existing physical and mental distress and decreased their access to local resources and services.
CRIW began by creating an equity-led partnership honoring the women's unique culture, beliefs, strengths and aspirations and with their collective power, we sought to better understand the challenges that this community faced and together with community partners, co-create meaningful solutions to promote their psychosocial wellbeing.
Our Story
Our Team
Donna Golden
Cofounder, Board Treasurer
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The granddaughter of refugees fleeing the genocide of Jews in Eastern Europe, Donna has a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She believes in the transformative power of community for healing and growth and is committed to working for a more just, inclusive and compassionate society. As a volunteer, Donna has dedicated the past five decades to social justice work with the most vulnerable and marginalized members of her community. Since 2006, she has served as a volunteer with IRIS - Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, where she presently serves on the Resettlement Companion Ally Team. In 2017, she co-founded Sanctuary Kitchen, a nonprofit program that partners with refugee and immigrant women to provide employment and culinary training. Donna brings passion and experience in program management, community engagement, curriculum design/training/instruction and advocacy as well as strength-based and trauma-informed care. She loves being a part of the vibrant and diverse New Haven community.
Rachele Pierro
Cofounder, Board Vice Chair
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Rachele holds a MA in Environment and Development (King’s College London, UK) and a Laurea in Italian and Anthropology (Universita’ di Genova, Italy). She worked as a researcher at Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University, collaborating on a cross-cultural research project on climate-related hazards, disasters, and cultural transformations. Prior to this, Rachele worked at Christian Aid (London, UK), an international development charity, supporting local NGOs in developing countries in their effort to increase local communities’ resilience to natural hazards. Her work was rooted in community-based participatory research and participatory rural appraisal approach. Since 2013 Rachele has been serving as a volunteer in various capacities with IRIS and St. John’s Church with underserved, preliterate refugee women from rural Afghanistan. Her expertise spans international development, qualitative research methodologies, participatory techniques, and navigating diverse cultural landscapes. Rachele's multifaceted experience enriches her ability to create meaningful impact and foster positive change in marginalized communities.
Hossna Samadi
Cofounder, Board Chair
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Born in Kabul, Afghanistan and resettled with her family in New Haven in 2016, Hossna has passionately devoted the past five years to advocating for and serving refugees and immigrants in New Haven in many different capacities. Having experienced the challenges of being a refugee herself first hand, she is passionate about supporting and amplifying their voices, particularly Afghan women. In her work with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Hossna is the Outreach Coordinator, a frequent public speaker and serves on the Resettlement Companion Ally Team. From 2022-2023, she was a Program Associate at Sanctuary Kitchen, a nonprofit partnering with refugee and immigrant chefs to provide employment and professional training. Hossna was selected for the 2022 Nonprofit Management Program for Emerging Leaders of Color Cohort of the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven offered in partnership with the University of Connecticut, is a two-year executive leadership program designed for middle-management nonprofit staff in the Greater New Haven area. Graduating in spring 2022 with an Associate of Science degree in Accounting from CT State Community College Gateway, Hossna is currently a part time student at Southern CT State University.
Sitara Ahmadi
Program Associate
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Originally from Wardak, Afghanistan, Sitara was raised in Mazar-e-Sharif. She was awarded a full scholarship from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to pursue studies at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where she graduated with a dual degree in Psychology from both AUCA and Bard College. Since her arrival in the U.S. as a refugee in 2023, Sitara has continued her work promoting the psychological well-being of underserved communities.
Annie Harper
Board Secretary
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Annie Harper is a cultural anthropologist working as an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH), where she conducts research on poverty, finances and mental illness. She is interested in addressing the social determinants of mental health, focusing in particular on how the financial services and retail industries could better serve low income people generally, and people with mental illness in particular. She works closely with the City of New Haven and the broader community’s efforts to provide support to low income residents struggling with financial difficulties.
